Sundance
by koopychuppy
Summary: Reylo AU set in the Wild West. When Rey, a young orphan, uncovers a shocking secret of Mayor Snoke, the crafty power hungry politician sends his personal protégée, the notorious bounty hunter Kylo Ren, after her to silence her. Will he succeed and collect the sizable bounty or does fate and the harsh Texas weather have other ideas?
1. The Stakes

Dust flurried like snow, gently gathering in the air between them and faintly glowed luminescent in the twilight canyon air.

The girl stood wide eyed, her gaze transfixed by the incredulous expression of her opponent. In her hand she held an old worn saber, a relic from a time when war was waged with whatever semblance of honor such a thing could have and men did not slaughter their brothers. Dry lightning flashed in the brewing sky above, a warning of the storm to come and the saber gleamed blue in the light of it.

Her opponent gripped his rifle firmer in his hands. The bayonet lanced on the end flashed in the light as well with a cruel hint of crimson. A clap of thunder rumbled down into the canyon, echoing in the space between them.

"You.." he stepped closer. The light of their blades and the waning twilight fought against the midnight black of his long dark cloak that silhouetted him against the sunset amber rust of the canyon walls. He was tall and too solid to be the shadows he cast on the walls behind him. The girl gripped the saber tighter and thrust it forward, halting his advance. He readied his rifle in response and she lunged.

He parried every strike the old saber threw with the lancing cruelty of his bayonet and their shadows danced across the sedimentary stripes of the canyon. Her movements were frantic, his patient and soon she was muscled down to the edge of the cliffside. Dust and stones clattered down into the gorge below. Sweat glistened crowning their temples in pearls of effort as they locked blades and struggled.

"I can show you the way!" He growled through gritted teeth.

The girl's eyes flashed and he could tell a storm all her own was brewing behind them. A storm of revelation. She growled out a small thunderclap of resolve and dug her heels into the clay shoving him forward and knocking the bayonet back.

Soon it was he who was frantic. The girl swung the saber with a new found vigor and a never before seen precision. It took all his strength to keep the blade from his flesh. She threw out cutting arcs and jabbing thrusts of merciless cold anger as the sky opened up over them. It spat drops of thick globular rain that soon quickened into the self righteous baptism of a late summer rain. The canyon floor turned slick, and distracted from the shock of the onslaught, he lost his footing as the girl gave a ferocious swipe to his lower calf. He knelt in the dust turned mud before rising to knock back another blow from the old but deadly saber.

Her fury was too powerful and the storm above and the storm in her eyes rumbled green with the promise of disaster. He tried to parry, tried to knock the saber from her hand, but instead it was his rifle that was hurtled out of reach. With a wide upper arc she cut him down. She pointed the saber at his chest as he lay at her mercy, on his back, in the mud dust. He cast a panicked glance at his rifle then up at the girl. The storm billowed behind her, an aureole, and the sight left him slack jawed. He knew in that moment that she would kill him then and for some reason he could not explain he found that he didn't care.

She did not-kill him and the sky opened up and wailed with the thundering whistling howl of a locomotive. The sky was a sickly green and the rain fell furious to the ground. No longer heavy lazy drops but a series of assaults on the ground below.

The girl cast worried eyes to the sky before returning them to the man laid prostrate before her. She held his gaze. He held her's- he didn't dare look away. Her look was indescribable. The way she looked at him was a mystery and the man had the sudden thought of wanting to solve it then. The sudden feeling of want. The idea compelled him forward. He struggled and failed to stand.

The attempt was enough to break her gaze and spooked she turned away. She fled bounding away down the canyon path in the hurried zig zag strides of a pronghorn until she faded like mist—an apparition into the rain. The man watched her go as blood ran in rain diluted streaks down his face to mix with the reds of the clay below.

He had lost the girl just before the storm hit. The failure had been a terrible blow to his pride and his face leaving a clean cleaved scar across his cheek. Had he known of the result, he had wondered later to himself, would he have ever bothered going after her in the first place? The thought always brought him back to the first moment she had been brought to life as a faded photograph slid cleanly across the rich red of mahogany. Back to all those months ago before the scar and the girl who gave it to him had ever existed.

Waiting patiently in the prim parlor, the streets of downtown clattering with people, horses and god know what else, he had shifted uncomfortably in the overstuffed velvet loveseat until the little housekeeper, clad in the peculiar red from head to toe that was her employer's preference, came to summon him in. He followed her down the narrow hall and had bent his too tall frame through the door into the room.

The room was too small for its rich trappings and he felt stifled standing there in front of the large mahogany desk surrounded by an excess of panelling, velvet and leather. He coughed lightly, an introduction of a noise and the other occupant of the room turned as the housekeeper slipped past him back into the safety of the hall.

"Ah, there you are my boy," the occupant grinned enthusiastically, "have a seat, I've been waiting for you."

He had kept the flinch internal as he crossed the room and folded himself into one of the crimson armchairs standing sentry in front of the throne of a desk. The man behind the desk sat haphazardly regal, his back bent by the years, but the flint glint in the wizen man's eyes made quick mincemeat of any notion of fragility. The old wolf might be crippled by age but the teeth were still there.

The old man's eyes hardened. "Skywalker's back."

He didn't respond. He cared little for his uncle. Skywalker was a fool and had long ago abandoned him to hermit himself away in the pursuit of gold. The old man had baited him with this subject before. Neither of the men claimed any sort of soft feelings for him. The mention of it was a barb. A subtle reminder of the hatred they shared that bound them together and of the debts he owed. That was the real reason he was here. The old man only called upon him when he needed him. He let his eyes fall to the surface of the throne of a desk and met his own gaze there in the reflective surface of the overly polished wood. He studied his reflection cast in reddish browns and grimaced at the too large ears and prow like nose he found there. The nose wrinkled a grimace back in response. He looked back up reluctantly to meet the old man's gaze.

The old man shrugged. "I expected more of a reaction," he clicked a sliver of a smile darkening the harsh creases on his face. "It hardly matters, I have a task for you boy." That was when he reached into the lining of his gold silk vest and slipped the faded portrait across the blood red of the table.

The picture was scuffed and faded around the edges. Not faded from age but from the brutality of travel folded up in some unknown pocket. A lean scrawny soft looking young boy stared defiantly at the camera holding a long coil of ship rope, the knotted bends looping around his thin lanky legs and nearly as thick.

He let a black leather clad thumb slide over the edges and set the photo back on the table. "I hunt bounties Mr. Snoke," he shifted in the narrow chair, "not cabin boys."

The old wolf settled back in his chair and peered at him in that appraising way he had done many times before. He reached over and slid the photo back. "Girl, Mr. Ren," he chittered snidely, "if you look closer, and I can assure you she's worth a pretty penny. Bounty is $10,000."

Ren's eyes widened. Ten thousand dollars for such a slip of a thing? Now he was curious. He picked the photo back up and studied it carefully. She was thin but her features were delicate. The baggy rags hung from her frame obscuring any obvious signs of curves but the old wolf was right. If you looked closely you could tell that those defiant eyes were that of a young woman.

"What has she done?" He asked, careful to keep his tone even. Snoke waved the question away with a dismissing hand.

"She's a thief, but her crimes are hardly your concern my boy. It's easy money for someone of your skills and as a favor I've asked the county to hold on posting the bounty till tomorrow."

Ren eyes narrowed. "That's generous of you sir," he rose out of the chair and set the photo back down on the table. "Though I hardly think I need such a head start."

Snoke snapped up the photo and held it out to the younger man. "Keep it, having the original will come in handy I'm sure." Ren gingerly picked the picture of the young girl out of the gnarled hand and slipped it into the safety of his cloak pocket. He nodded an acknowledgment to the vastly older man. "Thank you sir."

Snoke only grinned another hard cold smile. "No thank _you,_ Mr. Ren. I look forward to your success."

The housekeeper appeared as if summoned through some unknown force and Ren found himself ushered back into the hall. The housekeeper handed him a tidily packaged file wordlessly, just as she had done for all of the special bounties he had taken from Snoke over the years, and Ren had made his way equally wordlessly out the door. He saw no sense in breaking their tradition as odd as this new job seemed to be. As he made his way out to the street side where his horse was waiting he paused to consider.

She hardly seemed worth the effort and ten thousand! With that sum he could finally hang his hat and buy a plot. It bothered him to know so little about a bounty but for that price? He figured he could overlook it. He did owe Snoke. The old wolf had taken him under his wing and made him the man he was, one of the best and fiercest bounty hunters in territory. Find a young girl, cash her in and retire? It sounded almost too good to be true.

He unhooked his horse and slipped a practiced foot into the stirrup letting his long legs swing up and over into the saddle as he had done many times before. He tucked the file into the worn leather saddlebag hanging off the left side and clicked his heel coaxing his horse into a brisk trot towards downtown.

He shielded his eyes against the just setting sun and urged the horse forward. He wouldn't miss this chance. Not when he'd been given the opportunity of a head start.


	2. The Docks

_The shadow cast by the old man is long and thick like a hangman's noose. The girl stumbles back as if choked by it. The hem of her sleeve catches on the rough wood of a crate and the fabric rips with an agonizingly loud tear. The old man looks up at the noise, his hands easing their unnaturally strong grip on the dead man's throat. The dead man appears to glance at her too with glassy eyes and two men stare into her soul. They seem displeased, the old man to find her there at all, the dead man with what he sees inside. Her stomach heaves and she forces herself to run. Forces her legs to tear her from the men, the death, and the shadows. She flees into the night towards the safety of the docks but she knows...she'll never be able to outrun them._

If the young girl in the portrait had been mistaken for a boy at first glance then her plan was working. Rey had learned at a young age that there was no money in being a single girl on her own. The world was much safer and more profitable for boys.

In her earlier years, the disguise had been effortless. Keep the hair cropped short or tied up during the lean months, scrounge for something a size too big, spit at the right moment and she was in. Ships were always looking for a cabin boy. Someone to clean and peel potatoes. Her accent had covered for her. The high lilt of the British isles masked the feminine pitch perfectly. No one had been any the wiser. She knew how to walk, to talk, to secret herself away for nature's more private moments. She had been so careful. It had been a laborious but tolerable life. She had survived casting sail on the desert of the Atlantic stopping port to port but never really leaving the safety of the ship.

Now though, her luck was running out. It was getting harder to hide the differences. A fact she was now facing as the captain of her latest home, the _Nima,_ unceremoniously tossed her knapsack at her in disdain. She herself harbored no warm feelings for the bloated Captian Unkar but still she attempted an appeal. This had been the last ship she had been able to get on and she had served the gelatinous captain faithfully for over two years. That—and the dangerous memory of that dark night, weeks before, when they had first made port jumped into her mind. She needed to cast sail with the _Nima._ She needed to get out into the Gulf where it was safe not standing penniless like prey in the Galveston Harbor. She needed to get out of this town. Out of the sights of dead men and the men who murdered them.

"What about my wages?" She asked, gathering up her knapsack and slinging the worn bag over her thin shoulders. Unkar was notoriously cheap. It was possible he'd keep her aboard just to avoid the payout.

The captain tossed her a small satchel. _So much for that idea..._ Rey frowned and weighed the sack in her hands. It was light without the customary weight she was used to feeling.

"I'm owed three more pieces." She protested.

The captain smirked. "No, _Raymond Jaqcue_ was owed three more. What you have is more than generous for little lying chit like you."

Rey opened her mouth to protest again but quickly swallowed it. He had no intention of letting her back on the ship. Arguing would only escalate and draw more attention to her which was the last thing she needed.

She slipped the satchel into her robes. "Fine. Fair weather Unkar." She hopped down off the docks into the streets and tried to keep her head high and her eyes dry. Internally she panicked. _What was she going to do?_

As she made her way aimlessly down into town, the people and air bustled comfortably in the warm spring air. Internally a storm thundered in her head but outside-it was beautiful. Salt from the sea carried on the breeze and the sun glinted through the translucent stained glass petals of a Bradford pear, that shook off it excess beauty into the street in a spray of windswept petals. It would have been a day to savor if she hadn't just lost everything.

Rey weighed her options. The satchel of coins rustled against her breastbone. There wasn't enough to board somewhere, Unkar had made sure of that, but there just might be enough to secure passage somewhere either by train or some other means. Only where would she go?

Rey slipped the satchel out and rustled it open to peek at the coins within. If she added the two coins she had been saving in the soles of her boots she- still didn't have enough for a ships fare. That settled it. Staying any longer at the docks would be pointless.

She jogged over to a young woman who looked reasonably approachable. The young woman was more than happy to point her towards the station. There she'd figure out a way out of this place whichever way she could afford.

Judging from the directions it would be a long walk on foot...

...Suddenly a chill crawled up the back of her spine making the down on her arms stand on end. The young woman's face turned pale and Rey watched motionless as she hurried into a nearby shop. Behind her she could hear the snorting breath of a horse and the clink of hooves and tackle.

"Headed to the station?" A low voice rumbled. The tone was polite in itself but something in it kept Rey facing sternly forward.

"I could give you a lift." It continued. Rey glanced towards the shop the woman had escaped into. In the reflection of the glass she could just make out the rider. He smoked the glass in a large silhouette of a shadow but she could see the long dark cloak and wide black hat. A slash of crimson cloth covered his face, no doubt to keep the dust of the streets out but menacing all the same.

"Thank you but I prefer to walk." Rey felt a familiar twinge of dread as she forced her legs forward. It was similar to that night in the alleyway, almost deja vu, and she adjusted her shawl of a scarf tighter around her shoulders.

She kept her pace brisk but the glass of the shop and the clink of tackle betrayed the tall dark man as he kept a steady pace behind her. He was following her.

As soon as she saw an opportunity arise in a particularly crowded stretch of street, Rey broke into a haphazard sprint. The rider cursed behind her and she fled around a tight corner as the rider's horse whinnied in protest. She ran until her lungs felt like they would burst.

Exhausted she collapsed against the worn brick of an alley wall. She wasn't keen to remain but she knew the horse couldn't follow into the narrow space so easily.

She definitely needed to get out of this town...

A crashing clatter made her jump in surprise. Down the alley bounded a rotund little creature. It was all hair, a pile of white and sandy orange, and it bowled into her, knocking her on her butt in the dirt.

"Oof!" She tried to stand but the pile of fur apparently also possessed legs and a large wet tongue and it held her down in a flurry of slobbering licks.

"BB! There you are!" A young man dashed down the alleyway and pried the mass of fur away. "I'm so sorry sir, he loves kids."

Rey picked herself up and shook the dust off. "Oh that's alright."

The young man had a friendly open face that warmed his dark skin into a rich cocoa brown. His hair was close cropped and he wore a light vest and a neatly tailored brown leather jacket. On his lapel he wore a pin emblazoned with a scrawling logo. Rey recognized it. It was a stagecoach company. One of the men on the ship had shown her a pamphlet describing a journey west to Santa Fe. He had plans to go there and find a wife. Settle down to raise sheep or something. Rey hadn't paid attention. She had been too engrossed by the pictures of the west. They had been beautiful with long sprawling plains and tall lush mountains.

Rey was seized by the idea! Santa Fe! Why out there she would be far away from anything that awaited her here. She reached out and gripped the young man's sleeve. The pile of fluff in his arms wriggled gleefully and stole another slobbered swipe to her cheek.

"Please," Rey begged, "take me with you. Take me to Santa Fe."


	3. The Dust

—

 _Thank you but I prefer to walk..._

Kylo grinned to himself under the thick swath of his battered cowl as he urged his horse forward. He scanned the streets with a practiced eye but the girl had disappeared nimbly into the crowd.

 _Clever..._ he thought to himself as he turned his horse around the corner she had slipped down. A narrow alleyway hollowed in front of him. Empty. He swore under his breath and motioned the horse past the inevitable dead end. He set a course for the station. The girl was certainly giving him a run for his money so far but he'd been hunting for years. There were only so many places a thief like her could go. Thieves always tried to hop a train out of town. He doubted the girl would be any different.

Although, he had to hand it to her, the girl was certainly smarter than most. Many of women he'd bountied had been hopelessly naive. A good majority of them had fallen quite quickly for his subtle trick and had let him give them the ride—all the way to the sheriff's office. Smile, make small talk, keep them distracted and most women were never the wiser. Some men too. Easy money.

This girl on the other hand hadn't even looked at him. He hadn't even gotten a full glimpse of her face, just a ghostly image of it haunting the glass of the shop window. She had been smaller than he expected. So slight she was barely there at all.

He thought back to the dossier file tucked away in his saddlebag. He had skimmed over it but he still couldn't make sense of it. Why such a large bounty? The girl was by all definitions no one. A newly landed ship rat with no connections, no family, no friends. She was so unconnected that if he hadn't seen her in the flesh he would have assumed she had never existed at all.

Although, he thought grimly, Snoke did have a rather wicked sense of humor. Kylo grimaced, his lips tightening into a thin line as he remembered his bounty before last. He'd ridden all the way to San Antonio only to discover that his target was the dog of a rival's wife. Bitsy was it's name. He'd stolen the dog anyway. A bounty was a bounty. Snoke had cackled a cruel chuckle at the sight of the little grey beast, bundled in a grain sack on the back of his saddle.

That had unsettled him but he had collected the bounty anyway. The old wolf of a Mayor had his whims and rarely were they any of his concern or interest. Although, thinking back, he still wasn't sure what had become of the dog. He had never thought to ask. Snoke wasn't someone he questioned regularly. He was primarily a source of income and lately an unexpected mentor.

Kylo shifted in his saddle and quicken his pace. A express man clattered past him on his pony and two women in pale violet shrunk away from the sight of his horse as he trotted past. He wasn't an ugly man, although a dance hall girl had once described his face as excessive, but he was developing a reputation of ruthlessness. Snoke had certainly seen to that.

He frowned at the women. He spurred his horse into a rough gallop, kicking up a cloud of dust that billowed out over the street behind him. He turned and noted with some satisfaction that the violets had wilted into each other, twittering in dismay like little barn swallows and frantically swatting the dust out of their abundant petticoats. With a smirk he let his horse carry him the rest of the way to the station in a reckless rush.

He came to a sliding stop in front of the train station. As usual it was a bustle of activity but he had staked out the trains so many times before that picking a bounty was as effortless as plucking a pin from a pincushion. The girl was nowhere in sight. He slid off his horse with a shuffled slump and led it over to the watering trough sprawled out in front of the station pavilion. His horse was eager to drink after the midday sprint and Kylo laughed dryly as he watched his jet black companion dunk it's head with an abandoned splash into the cool water. He gave the horse a scratch on the neck as he waited for the girl to arrive. She'd show. Any minute now.

He'd just about given up when he finally spotted her. She'd made a friend in the passing hour, a no doubt naive coach driver that had lent her his jacket. Kylo kept one eye trained on the pair as he readied to mount his horse.

"Finally leaving town Mr. Ren?" A familiar and irritating voice called out behind him.

Kylo didn't bother to turn around. The speaker wasn't worth loosing sight of the girl. He watched as the two crossed the street towards a second man and the three huddled together in tense conversation.

"No, General, just business."

He heard the pale lanky man scoff as he walked around and planted himself in front of his horse. Kylo had no choice but to let the girl fall into his peripherals.

With his sharp waspish features and carefully slicked uniform, that was so starched it reminded Kylo of the husks left behind by cicadas in the summertime, General Hux was lean and angry like a dirt dauber. A buzzing hovering nuisance that delighted in thwarting his chances. Hux was like most men with rank, completely full of himself, and the damn hornet insisted that the Army could enforce the law well enough on it's own. Kylo couldn't help but disagree, an occupational habit, and the two men had butted heads ever since.

"If it's another one of Snoke's personal bounties, I can assure you that the 42nd Calvary is more than adequate to bring any of the mayor's transgressors to justice."

The peripheral three had come to some kind of a decision. They broke apart and scurried towards one of the nearby coaches. Kylo hissed in a breath. He'd been partly right. The girl was skipping town-just not by train.

He flung himself into the saddle and sidestepped around the General.

"Take it up with Snoke yourself." He called back as he hustled his horse towards the coach.

The girl spotted him as he advanced across the square and gave a yelp of dismay to her newfound companions. He'd barely made it half way to the coach before it was peeling off in a cloud of dust.

Kylo spat out dust as he galloped after. The General had been a costly distraction but he hadn't lost them yet. He'd catch her, no matter how clever she was.

He pulled up his cowl around his nose and grinned. He'd catch her alright.


	4. The Camp

"You never said she had a bounty on her head!" The tall tan man shouted over the din of the stagecoach wheels and the thundering quartet of hooves as they sped off into the loamy hills. The dirt path in front of them was well beaten by the storms of horses and cattle that had billowed through before yet, ever still, thick clouds of foggy yellow-red dust were kicked up into the air to settle haphazardly over the drivers. Flecks of it nestled themselves aggressively into the taller man's dark wavy hair and swept into the open windows of the cherry red coach which promptly produced a fit of choked coughs from the sole occupant rattling around inside with the jangling clinking contents of one of Galveston's finest banks. The taller man's companion sighed and gripped the rails of the wooden front seat tighter, his knuckles whitening into a pale almond brown. His full lips pouted as he shot his partner a wilted look.

"She needed help Poe, you know I can't say no to women."

The taller man grinned knowingly and gave a short whooping whistle, urging the horses faster. Their horsepower had currently allowed them to outstrip their pursuer but the younger man, Finn, knew his partner Poe wasn't going to be taking any chances.

"I get it Finn, I get it but you really don't know how to pick them buddy." He shook his head. "What are we supposed to do with Ren the Reaper on our tail? He's going to kill us!"

"I can hear you!" A petite voice shouted back at him. The two men turned back for a moment to glance down at the coach behind them.

Poe gave a belting burst of a laugh that threw his head back. The stagecoach swerved under his inattention hitting it's wheel on a rock. The coach reeled and Finn yelped clutching the railing tighter as Poe readjusted their course into the sprawling wilderness.

"I like her." He shouted with a grin.

Finn grinned back. "Me too," he admitted but his reply was lost into the dust and noise. The failure of comprehension by his partner did not make his answer any less true. He'd only just met the young girl bundled up in her ragged shirt and trousers but he liked her. She was feisty and earnest. She was different.

—

Rey braced herself against the railing on the stagecoach window with one hand as she desperately clutched her stomach with the other. The gut wrenching twists and turns of the coach were worse than any ship at sea and she willed herself not to be sick. Not now, not when she was finally almost safe.

The foreboding shadow of a man had long since disappeared into the dust but she couldn't shake the feeling of being chased. The farther she got from that unsavory port town the better. Santa Fe would be safe. There were sheep there after all. She allowed herself to drift over the idea of them as she had done many nights on the ship. White clouds of sheep rolling over green hills.

Feeling a bit calmer she poked her head out the window. She squinted into the horizon behind them pulling her shirt up to block the dust. There were no signs of him or anything.

"I think we can slow now," she shouted up at the two men. She had been lucky, incredibly lucky, to stumble upon the two but she knew that the horses were wearing from the hard run and that it would be some distance until they would reach the next station. They had been obliging but they had duties of their own and neither of them would benefit from exhausted horses.

"Great!" The taller of the two hollered back cheerfully. The interior of the coach gave one final lurch as the horses slowed their pace to an even trot. The dust filtered low to the ground like fog leaving the air above clear enough to see the heat of the day. Insects keened out into the scattered plains of short dry grass and the air hovered in a frantic dance over the ground as if the soil was too hot to touch. Rey half suspected it was and was grateful for her thick leather boots.

Above the sky had waned to a warm mid afternoon sigh of yellowed pink and mountains of cream colored clouds pillowed over the horizon. They rolled like waves, plotting a potential storm between them, as they shifted and slowly crashed into each other.

As if reading her thoughts, Finn grinned back at her.

"Looks like rain," he said turning to his partner. "We made some good distance, let's find a spot to set up for the night."

Poe dipped his head in acknowledgment and shrugged his shoulders. "Only if it's alright with the lady, we can keep going if we need to."

Rey leaned out the window. "It's okay, I think we lost him."

Poe nodded. He and Finn scanned the horizon as Rey relaxed back into the shade of the coach. She was soon lulled to sleep by the gentler pace and had no idea how far they had traveled when Finn finally shook her awake. They had come to a stop at the edge of a great hill. An edging of trees provided some shelter from the coming rain. Rey felt a sting of embarrassment as she looked around the clearing. The two men had already set up camp while she had been asleep and Rey couldn't help but feel guilty for not being more helpful. They had already done so much for her. Poe motioned for her to sit and handed her his canteen of water paired with a long strip of jerky.

"Sorry, it's not much, but we can't afford to start a fire. You can see the light for miles out here." He took a strip of his own and pulled off a chunk with his teeth. Finn did the same. They chewed in silence as the last remnants of the sun set.

The jerky was sweet and tangy with a hint of molasses. Rey devoured the strip and took another full swig from the canteen. She had been too frightened to feel the hunger but now it gnawed at her. Her stomach growled in protest demanding more food. Finn chuckled and handed her another strip.

"We usually sleep in the coach when it rains but tonight we'll take turns on the lookout."

Rey nodded. She took a sip from the canteen to clear her throat.

"Who is that man?" She swallowed looking across at the two men. They glanced at each other, their faces painted blue and black by the dusk. Their eyes spoke to each other silently reaching an agreement.

Finn was the first to answer, his eyes glinted with the scraps of starlight overhead. "His name is Kylo Ren. He's a bounty hunter."

The hunk of jerky she had been chewing on suddenly lumped in her mouth and Rey took another sip to keep from gagging on it. She swallowed it down painfully.

"Why did you call him Ren the Reaper?" She asked nervously.

Poe eyes flashed darkly. His voice was steel and Rey shivered at the sound.

"Most bounties give a choice between dead or alive..." He paused and Rey shifted in the dirt. A chill ran up her spine.

He shook his head slightly before continuing.

"They have a choice...but Ren...Ren never takes in a bounty alive."


	5. The Capture

The rain poked and prodded itself through the thick weave of his outer cloak needling him until he was chilled to the bone despite the heat that had radiated down during the sunlight hours. The sun was gone and the darkness had teamed up with the oncoming rain to ensure that he was miserable. He squinted into the last scraps of sunset and the filtered light of the waning moon trying to spot the stagecoach he'd been relentlessly tracking all day.

All he saw was a pocket of trees in the distance. He peered harder at the little blob of natural pillars standing like a haphazard temple out in the sea of grassland and dirt. Was that thick dark shape the coach?

The sky grumbled overhead. Kylo Ren looked up at the swirls of clouds pooling overhead. He looked back at the speck of trees then down at the ground. The coach tracks ended here. It was possible that they stopped for the night foolishly thinking that the coming storm would throw him off the scent. Many bounties had done so before.

They were all wrong of course.

He urged his horse into a slow walk. The satin grey mare gave a short protesting snort but walked quietly forward. It had been worth a month of fasting to purchase the horse. Maybe it was sad to admit it but the high spirited Arabian had quickly become his closest companion. He had etched her name into the side of her halter in scrawling script. Phasma. She was quick on her feet and quick to learn. He loved her fiercely something neither Hux nor Snoke ever attempted to understand. He wasn't sure if the stubborn mare was capable of returning his affection but she was loyal. She'd been stolen twice but she had always found her way back.

He gave her a pat on the neck once they had crossed half the distance and motioned for her to stop. He dismounted and traced a circle on the bridge of her nose. It was a signal they had developed for her to stay put. He pulled back the flap of the saddlebag and rummaged until he found what he was looking for. He pulled the small black vial and scowled at the label.

 _Chloroform_

He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and doused it in the foul solution. Truth be told he hated using the stuff. It was cruel and cowardly but he couldn't see any other way to capture her alive. He wanted her alive.

He was curious about the slight girl. Curious how someone so small could get such a tall bounty placed on her thin shoulders. Curious about why her eyes, reflected dimly in the shop window, had steeled self righteously as if she had never done anything at all. As if she was innocent. As if she wasn't afraid of him.

It had dawned on him as he had chased the stagecoach far into the wilderness. That it was more than just $1000 driving him forward but the girl herself. There was something about her.

He was careful to keep the soaked cloth well away from his face as he made his way silently up the hill. As he ascended he could see the stagecoach and the little camp the trio had made come clearly into view. In blacks and blue he could see it all.

He stopped just behind the old trees at a sudden movement. He sucked in a quick silent breath as the girl came into view. She stumbled with the drunken stagger of someone still three fourths asleep. She hobbled toward the dying embers of their campfire and sleepily rummaged until she found a canteen. She brought it to her lips and drank-thick diamond drops spilling down her neck like beads in the moonlight.

Remembering to breathe, Kylo crouched forward and made his way silently up to the girl. She was an arm's reach away when a piece of kindling snapped underfoot causing her to turn in a panic. Her eyes flashed in shocked recognition as he shoved the cloth under her nose. She silently slumped into his arms. He looked around the camp but her companions were still fast asleep. One of the coach horses snuffled the air and toss its head at the unfamiliar smell. Kylo scooped up the girl and retreated down the hill.

The girl was lighter than he expected and soon they were off into the night. The girl fast asleep in the crook of his arm. Kylo urged his horse as fast as he dared to outrun the incoming rain. Phasma as if sensing the delicateness of their cargo wove a smooth path across the wilderness.

Even as the sky brewed overhead, Kylo breathed a sigh of relief. The bounty was his. He had the girl alive.

In the morning he would get answers.


	6. The Rope

She was sore. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest as she struggled to open her eyes against the sandy layer of sleep that had cemented itself in the corners of her lashes. She felt dry and dead tired like she'd been hog tied to the back of a horse for hours. The earth swayed roughly underneath her and she reeled. A steady hand braced her shoulder holding her still. The swaying stopped and it was then that she realized that she couldn't move her arms.

Her eyes ripped open at the discovery and for a moment she was blinded by sunlight. Panicked she struggled, soon learning that her legs shared the same immobilized fate. A horse gave a shrill whinny and a deep voice cursed low next to her ear. Another hand captured her wrist to still her.

"Take it easy." The voice crooned gently. As Rey blinked sunspots, the steady hands hooked themselves underneath her and pulled her upright. The world came into focus and with it came her surroundings. They were unfamiliar except for the grey horse shifting underneath her and the man standing before her. His hair hung dark and unruly around his face that was masked from the heat of the day by a worn red bandanna but it was his eyes she recognized. The eyes from the shop window. He held her steady there in the saddle. Now it all made sense.

 _She really had been tied to the back of a horse._

Rey stared at the man and he gazed back a moment before leaning over her legs to reach into the saddlebag on her side. He pulled out a flask and uncorked the lid with his teeth. The bandanna stayed infuriatingly in place. He held the container up to her lips. Rey snarled at the gesture.

"Drink." He commanded through gritted teeth. Rey frowned but complied dipping her lips to catch the trickle of water as he tilted the flask back. When he was satisfied he took a swig himself and tossed the half empty container back into the bag.

"Don't kick me." He said glancing up at her. "I'm going to untie your legs."

He worked quickly on the knots and soon her legs were free. He pushed her leg over the side of the saddle settling her astride and bound her ankles to the stirrups. When he was finished with the arrangement he picked up the reins and the earth swayed again as he urged the horse forward into a walk.

Rey clung to the horn of the saddle. Her wrists strained in their bindings. The ropes scraping mercilessly across her wrists with each step. Her head pounded too much to protest-but she could question. She licked the chap away from her lips and managed the first in a hoarse whisper.

"Where are you taking me?"

He didn't answer.

She tried again. "Who are you?"

Again silence. Bristling she lurched forward in the saddle and bit hard on the reins pulling them with a snarl out of his hands. He reeled at the theft and gaped at her. She spat and snapped furiously down at him.

"Answer me!" Her voice broke and she coughed. Her throat was dry and so sore...

The man frowned up at her. He reached out and snatched the reins back from where they had fallen.

"It's not important." He snipped. He voice dropped into something gentler. "Look...I won't hurt you as long as you cooperate okay? Trust me."

Rey seethed. "Trust you?" She spat. "You? A man who won't even show me his face?"

This seemed to touch a nerve. He stood taller and crossed the distance. She wilted, he was so tall. He stood eye to eye with her. He stared her down and tore the bandanna from his face. Rey gasped softly. He gave her time to scan over his features.

"Happy now?" He asked bitterly. He turned and urged the horse forward again.

Rey's eyes watered. She was not happy. She was tied up on the back of a horse with a strange handsom—horrible man who wouldn't tell her a damned thing. She sniffled and felt a tear escape down her cheek. She licked it away as it crossed the corner of her mouth and frowned at the saltiness.

Rey judged with considerable displeasure by the sun overhead that they were headed back towards the port town. She wondered ruefully if Finn and Poe had looked for her or if they had continued on towards Santa Fe without her. She could hardly blame them if they had but she still sighed unhappily at the thought.

Several hours pasts in silence. Rey slipped in and out of consciousness, the wilderness fading into a shimmering mirage in the heat of midday. The man kept shaking her awake, kept forcing water down her throat, until finally she couldn't take it anymore. Her legs were sore from the horse and nature was calling—

She mustered up her courage and what was left of her voice.

"I need to stop for a moment...please."

The man looked up at her, scanning her face with neutral eyes before nodding and undoing the binding on her ankles. He scooped her off the horse and set her down on the ground with a small shuffle as she tried to keep her legs under her. He took the length of rope and tied it around her wrist.

"So I don't have to keep an eye on you." He muttered, his face pinking. He cleared his throat and turned away from her.

Rey moved as far away as she dared. She kept a wary eye on the man. He kept himself carefully turned away...so the reaper was a gentleman it seemed. Rey frowned and gathered herself back together. He didn't seem interested in killing her. There would be time for answers later.

When she finished she returned the favor and stood eyes carefully trained on the leather stitching of the saddle.

When he returned he threw the flask of water into her hands once more. After she had taken a drink she found the courage to ask for a rest. The man nodded. A silent agreement.

A spindling tree stood in solitude in the sea of grass and dirt. The man set loose his horse to graze. He sat down under the shade and pulled the bandanna up to shield his face from the remaining sun. Rey sat as far away as she dared, the rope pulled taunt between them. She picked at the knot. She soon gave up. It was impossibly tight and every movement traveled across the length towards the man's wrists like vibrations on a web. He eyed her, a spider contemplating it's prey, and Rey shivered.

"How're you feeling?" The predator growled.

"What do you care?" She snapped back. A useless struggle she knew. Like a beetle beating its wings into a silken tangle.

"I don't." The man huffed out the ends lilting with a hint of humor. He leaned back into the tree to peer at her over the edge of the bandanna.

Rey flopped back into the grass. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine she was in Santa Fe. If she concentrated hard enough she could almost hear the sheep bleating as they grazed.

The fantasy was cut short by a low rumbling voice. "You should have some more water."

Rey groaned under her breath and shot the man a icy glare. "No."

If he was displeased by the answer it didn't show under the bandanna. He continued. "Then at least come under the shade."

This time she remained silent. She was sore and tired. Let him get a taste of his own medicine. She rolled her back to him.

A sharp tug of the rope had her sprawling into the grass. She cursed and scrambled for purchase, righting herself in a panic. The rope continued pulling her toward the tree. Rey resisted, bracing herself in the dirt but the man's strength and her body's betrayal soon had her buckling to her knees in the shade.

Rey mustered up all the moisture she could manage and spat it in the man's face. It missed its mark and landed staining the dark spun fabric of his shirt. He ignored it and tossed the flask of water at her feet. She stubbornly ignored it and him until another sharp tug pulled her forward on the rope. She scrambled back and scooped up the flask.

The water was disgustingly soothing. As she swallowed a large gulp, tears stung her eyes. She tried to fight them, blinking them back furiously, but they came steadily until they spilled over, running stinging salty little rivers down her cheeks.

"I hate you." She sobbed.

"Alright." The man answered evenly.

"I don't want to go back." Her voice sounded weak and she hated that. She shifted and felt something clink next to her breastbone.

 _The coins!_

She reached into her shirt and pulled out the little satchel.

"I don't want to go back." She repeated, her voice desperate, "Please, I can pay you."

She tossed the satchel at his feet. He pulled down the bandanna and furrowed his brows at the satchel of coins. He looked up his eyes meeting her own. His gaze was unwavering. He bit his lip as if considering her proposal. She took a step forward. He swallowed in response. His adam's apple dipped nervously. Feeling braver she took another step.

"Please," she begged her voice just above a hoarse whisper. "I'll go anywhere else with you, just don't send me back."


	7. The Deal

He had seen a lot of looks in his time. Looks of loathing, disgust, contempt all variations of a common theme. All born out of fear of what he did—of what he was. He'd seen people look at him like he was stupid in an open calculating way that make his finger itch to pull the trigger. He'd seen people look at him in horror as if he were a monster or some disaster, like a hurricane, wide eyed and knowing. He'd seen the desperation for survival painted there in pairs in all its colors except one. He'd never seen anyone look at him with hope, like he might be salvation instead of the one damning them to hell. He'd never seen that before—until now.

The girl's eyes flickered with it, shimmering like a mirage, and for a moment he was afraid. Afraid that if he so much as lifted a hand she would fade away into the heat of the day and he would be alone.

The girl spoke confirming her existence. "Well? Are you going to answer me or not?" She demanded. She was real.

Kylo swallowed in an attempt to gather himself and nudged the satchel with his boot. "Where do you want to go?"

The girl relaxed. That in itself was surprising. "Santa Fe."

He shook his head and tried to clear his mind. His pulse quickened. His mind raced too quickly to be clever and his answer was stupid and he grimaced as it tumbled out into the air between them. "That's where everyone wants to go. I doubt there'll be any land left."

The girl scoffed. "I don't care about land.

He frowned. "Everyone cares about land."

"I don't."

He studied her a moment. Her hair had come undone, the cap long ago lost and it tumbled down over her shoulders in a mane of cedar waves. He felt an urge to tug on one of the stray curls just to see what it would feel like between his fingers.

He nudged the satchel again. "These coins are probably stolen..."

The girl reddened and made to grab for the sack. He snatched it up and held it out of reach. She stumbled over the rope still wound between them.

"I'll take you." He stuffed the sack into the pocket of his coat. The girl stared at him incredulously.

"You will?"

"Yeah." He grunted. He got up and gave a low whistle. Phasma looked up skeptically and gave a annoyed toss of her mane before trotting over. As he watched the stubborn grey mare return an idea was forming.

 _He'd take her to Santa Fe._ That would give him plenty of time to figure out just what it was about the girl that made him so curious. Why she had the bounty, why she wasn't afraid of him when she had every right to be, and why it even mattered. More importantly there was a Marshal's office in Santa Fe. He could lead her right there if she turned out to be just another no one and collect the bounty without any trouble from Snoke at all. He could take the money and run. Maybe head to California. There was nothing to lose but time and he had plenty of it. He could spare some for his curiosity and indulge a little.

He gathered up the reins and with a quick step in the stirrup launched himself up into the saddle. He held out a hand for the girl to mount. She waited hesitating.

"Since I paid you...couldn't we take the ropes off?" She asked sheepishly.

"Later," he huffed. "I still don't trust you." He held out his hand again. "You want to get there or not?"

She took his hand in her little one and he pulled her up to sit behind him. Phasma snorted at the extra weight. Kylo didn't wait to see if the girl had settled. He urged Phasma and his eyes forward as he redirected their path west. It was better not to wait. The thought was confirmed as the girl wound two tight arms around his waist. Give them time to get squeamish and they fall.

Soon they were headed west in a steady rhythm of hooves galloping over grassland. As the legs of the horse pounded over the dust, Kylo's heart hammered in his chest and if he closed his eyes and concentrated he almost believed he could feel the patter of the girl's heart beating too.

"What's your name?" She called to him.

"Ren," he answered, "Kylo Ren."

"What a terrible name."

He kept his eyes forward. "What's your's?"

Her answer was immediate. "Rey."

 _Rey..._ He mouthed it silently trying it out. "Rey...of Santa Fe." He scoffed. A low grin broke into the corners of his mouth.

"That's the idea." She snapped gripping his waist tighter as the horse clipped over a stone. Overhead the sky warmed around the edges beckoning them west with the promise of a sunset.

Kylo urged the horse faster.


End file.
